■ Transport
Mandarin unveils new route
Mandarin Airlines will open regular direct flights between Kaohsiung and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, starting tomorrow. The new service will benefit Taiwanese businessmen who travel frequently to the Southeast Asian country, Vietnamese spouses of local citizens and travelers in southern Taiwan, a spokesman for the company said. The flight will take around 3.5 hours, the spokesman said, adding that tickets for the first flight had sold out. The airline is offering a discounted ticket price for flights between tomorrow and May 12 to celebrate the opening of the new route, the spokesman said.
■ Politics
Mayor hospitalized
Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) has been admitted to Chung-ho Memorial Hospital, the Kaohsiung City Government said yesterday. Director-General of the Mayor's Office Hung Chih-kun (洪智坤) said the hospital insisted Chen stay in hospital for further examination after she complained of suffering dizziness after getting up on Thursday. Hospital vice president Lai Wen-te (賴文德) told a press conference that Chen has high blood pressure and blood sugar, adding that the hospital plans to conduct blood tests on her. Lai said Chen was conscious and in stable condition, but that she was expected to stay in the hospital for observation for four to five days. Hung and Hsiao Yu-cheng (蕭裕正), director-general of the city's Department of Information, both denied rumors that Chen had been hospitalized due to a minor stroke. Deputy Kaohsiung Mayor Chiu Tai-san (邱太三) and Cheng Wen-lung (鄭文隆) will manage city affairs until Chen is fit enough to return to work, Hsiao said.
■ Media
TTV chairman resigns
Taiwan Television Enterprise (TTV) chairman Lai Kuo-chou (賴國洲) yesterday handed in his resignation, citing government interference in the state-owned TV station's management. Lai said in a statement that he had to leave because he "stood in the way of somebody getting rich." TTV president Chen Ching-ho (陳清河) will double as chairman until a replacement has been found. Lai said that he would soon brief the public on his experiences at the station. "I think we will figure out sooner or later whether the government's sale of TTV shares to private firms is really a move to keep its promise to withdraw from media management or if it is simply trying to extend its influence on another aspect," he said in the statement.
■ Constitution
Academics call for change
A group of academics yesterday appealed to the nation's major political parties to revise the Constitution and turn the government into a parliamentary system. Lu Ya-li (呂亞力), professor emeritus of political science at National Taiwan University, and Chou Yan-shan (周陽山), professor of political science at the Chinese Culture University, said the general provisions of the Constitution, which deal with the sensitive issues of the country's name and territory, should remain intact. However, the central government should be converted into a parliamentary system, with members chosen by a popular electoral system under which voters cast one ballot for their favored candidate and one for their political party, they said. Claiming that their opinions represented those of more than 100 political science academics and professionals, Lu and Chou also called for a relaxation of the criteria for amending the Constitution.
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
US climber Alex Honnold left Taiwan this morning a day after completing a free-solo ascent of Taipei 101, a feat that drew cheers from onlookers and gained widespread international attention. Honnold yesterday scaled the 101-story skyscraper without a rope or safety harness. The climb — the highest urban free-solo ascent ever attempted — took just more than 90 minutes and was streamed live on Netflix. It was covered by major international news outlets including CNN, the New York Times, the Guardian and the Wall Street Journal. As Honnold prepared to leave Taiwan today, he attracted a crowd when he and his wife, Sanni,
Taiwanese and US defense groups are collaborating to introduce deployable, semi-autonomous manufacturing systems for drones and components in a boost to the nation’s supply chain resilience. Taiwan’s G-Tech Optroelectronics Corp subsidiary GTOC and the US’ Aerkomm Inc on Friday announced an agreement with fellow US-based Firestorm Lab to adopt the latter’s xCell, a technology featuring 3D printers fitted in 6.1m container units. The systems enable aerial platforms and parts to be produced in high volumes from dispersed nodes capable of rapid redeployment, to minimize the risk of enemy strikes and to meet field requirements, they said. Firestorm chief technology officer Ian Muceus said
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